Georges Levy G.L.40

G.L. 40
Role	amphibious aircraft
Manufacturer	Hydravions Georges Lévy
Designer	Blanchard and Le Pen
First flight	1917
Introduction	November 1917
Primary users	French Air Force Finnish Air Force

Georges Levy G.L. 40 HB2 was a three-seated French, amphibious biplane aircraft that was designed in 1917. The aircraft was designed by Blanchard and Le Pen and therefore the aircraft was also known as the Levy-Le Pen. Le Pen was Maurice Jules-Marie Le Pen born in Lorient, Morbihan, France in 1889. Le Pen was killed in a car crash in 1919. It was claimed to be the best French amphibious aircraft of World War I, but that is probably due to the low scale production of such aircraft in France at that time.

The Finnish Air Force purchased 12 Georges Levy G.L. 40 HB2s, but they weren't pleased with them. Three aircraft were lost in accidents that claimed lives — and it was given the nickname "the flying coffin" in the 1920s.

In 1920, the Belgian government started an airline in what was then called the Belgian Congo. Ligne Aerienne du Roi Albert (LARA) operated six Levy-Lepen hydroplanes along the Congo River from Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) upstream to Stanleyville (now Kisangani), a distance of 1725 kilometres. The flights were started in June 1921 and discontinued one or two years later.

Data from Thulinista Hornetiin

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

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